Tengami Preview

Step into a pop-up world of Japanese papercraft with Tengami

The Indiecade-nominated Tengami is a side-scrolling adventure game featuring a unique, pop-up papercraft version of ancient Japan that promises to be nothing short of stunning.

Tengami is set in a fantasy world of long-ago Japan, an era of wonder, mystery and dark fairy tales. Unlike most adventure games, this one is a side-scroller in which players manipulate the environment around them in order to solve puzzles and uncover secrets. Pre-release screenshots look absolutely gorgeous, and yet they tell only part of the story.

The game takes place in a “paper architected pop-up world,” a term which may not make a lot of sense until you see it in action in the debut gameplay trailer. Each screen actually opens like a turned page in a virtual pop-up book, a nearly breathtaking effect that reveals wonderful, three-dimensional environments of delicate, shadowy beauty. Taking that style even further, at least some interactivity with each level will be accomplished by pushing and pulling paper tabs, much as you’d do with a real pop-up book.

Tengami is the first game from UK-based indie studio Nyamyam, and it’s not hard to see why it’s a nominee for the 2012 Indiecade awards. “Tengami has a striking minimalistic art style inspired by traditional Japanese arts and crafts,” the Indiecade site says. “In keeping with the visual aesthetic, the design of Tengami eschews many traditional game elements in favour of a contemplative experience focusing on the playfulness and possibilities that a pop-up world presents.”

Traditional or not, I think it looks absolutely brilliant, and I can’t wait to try it. Tengami is currently slated to come out in the summer of 2013 for the iPad, PC and Mac.